The private jet that rapper Juice WRLD flew on to Chicago before suffering a seizure and dying was reportedly carrying 70 pounds of marijuana, police sources told TMZ. The sources also told the news outlet that the 21-year-old had taken several pills prior to suffering the seizure.
The FBI reportedly confiscated a large stash of marijuana from several suitcases that were on board the flight; photos published by TMZ show about a dozen bags of marijuana in the luggage at the private jet terminal at Chicago’s Midway Airport.
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Several members of Juice WRLD’s team aboard the flight, which landed around 1 a.m. on Sunday, reportedly told law enforcement that Juice WRLD had taken “several unknown pills” prior to the seizure.
The law enforcement sources also said that a bottle of codeine cough syrup was found on the plane, and that one of Juice WRLD’s associates told authorities that the rapper may have been dependent on Percocet.
An official cause of death for Juice WRLD, whose real name is Jarad Anthony Higgins, has not been released. The Cook County Medical Examiner is set to conduct an autopsy on Monday.
Juice WRLD was reportedly still conscious following his reported seizure when he arrived at a nearby hospital in Chicago, but was pronounced dead shortly after that.
The young rapper was one of the most beloved rising talents in hip-hop, particularly acclaimed for his freestlyling as well as his ability to blend genres. In a radio interview with Atlanta’s Durtty Daily, he named some of his biggest influences as rock bands such as Billy Idol, Blink-182, Black Sabbath, Fall Out Boy, Megadeth and Panic! at the Disco.
In that interview, he said that he began drinking lean — a cocktail containing strong cough syrup with codeine — in the sixth grade. He went on to use prescription pills like Percocet and Xanax, and picked up smoking as well. He said that he quit cigarettes before leaving high school.
He began releasing music via SoundCloud as a sophomore in high school, with his breakout EP, 9 9 9, released in June of 2017. The song “Lucid Dreams” took him to the mainstream and earned him attention from some established artists in rap music like Waka Flocka Flame, G Herbo and Lil Bibby, who helped sign him to a record label.
He released Goodbye & Good Riddance with Interscope Records and landed his lauded collaboration with Travis Scott, “No Bystanders.” He promoted his next album, Death Race for Love, while opening for Nicki Minaj and released several more singles over the course of this year, including collaborations with Ellie Goulding, BTS and Benny Blanco.
